A series of very successful meetings were held in solidarity with the revolution in Venezuela at the annual Communist Party festival — la Fête de l’Humanité — which was held in the Paris area last weekend. In France, Hands Off Venezuela (HOV) is led and organised by the supporters of the Marxist paper and website La Riposte, who have been waging an energetic campaign in support of the Venezuelan revolution over a number of years.

The international secretary of the campaign, Jorge Martin, spoke at three separate meetings on Saturday 10th September. The first of these took place at 12.30. Marie-Antoinette Borjas, of the Venezuelan Embassy in Paris, had invited Jorge to speak at the meeting organised by the Embassy in order to explain the significance of the revolutionary events unfolding in Venezuela. More than 60 people attended this meeting.

Greg Oxley, Jorge Martin and Marie-Antoinette Borjas

Jorge opened his speech by comparing the attitude of the Venezuelan government to that of the Bush administration in relation to the humanitarian disaster in New Orleans. He explained the reforms being carried out by the Chavez government, and retraced the history of the Venezuelan revolution, emphasising the way in which the big capitalists and landowners, supported by US imperialism, had consistently tried to overthrow the government and sabotage the reforms. This explains the socialist and revolutionary conclusions being drawn by Hugo Chavez and by the workers and youth of Venezuela, he said, and why the revolution was now moving in the direction of the overthrow of capitalism. Nonetheless, he also warned that the revolution is still in danger, as is Chavez personally. Jorge was warmly applauded. Marie-Antoinette Borjas, speaking on behalf of the Embassy thanked Jorge for his speech, and was clearly very enthusiastic about the work being carried out in France and internationally by the HOV campaign.

The second meeting was held in the stall of the Ardèche federation of the French Communist Party. François Jacquart, the Federal Secretary, gave a brief introductory speech, in which he underlined the importance of learning the lessons of the events in Venezuela. The 85 people who crowded into the stall to hear Jorge were extremely attentive and enthusiastic. They applauded at great length, and queued up at the end of the meeting to buy copies of La Riposte and the latest pamphlets produced by the organisation on Venezuela and on Cuba.

Finally, in the evening, Jorge spoke to an impressive gathering of no less than 250 people in the main meeting hall of the “Village du Monde” (the international area of the Fête de l’Humanité). Jorge’s speech was interrupted more than once by applause and cheering. Towards the end of his speech, he spoke of the necessity of building the forces in all countries, and especially in France, in order to spread the revolutionary ideas of Marxism and work towards the overthrow of capitalism internationally.

This last meeting was jointly organised by La Riposte and the association Forum pour un Autre Monde, led by André Meyer. André made a decisive contribution to the success of this meeting. His association sent out some 1500 invitations, and distributed a considerable number of leaflets at the festival. Without his support, this memorable event would never have taken place. Before Jorge began his speech, André explained the importance of the solidarity work being carried out by the Forum pour un Autre Monde, and also emphasised the work of the Marxist organisation La Riposte. Marie-Antoinette Borjas was on the platform alongside André Meyer and Jorge Martin. She made a short but very moving speech, giving concrete examples of how the social reforms of the Chavez government were changing the lives of ordinary working people, and particularly of the most oppressed sections of society.

Overall, more than 400 people heard Jorge speak at the Fête de l’Humanité. All three meetings were organised with the support of the Bolivarian Circles of Paris and Toulouse. In the last meeting, Daniel Yegrès, on behalf of the Bolivarian Circle in Paris, made a characteristically militant and enthusiastic speech. For my part, and on behalf of all the comrades of La Riposte, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to André Meyer, for his unfailing support in the preparation of this meeting, and of course to Marie-Antoinette Borgas. It is no exaggeration to say that without her support and personal involvement, this final meeting would never have taken place.

Greg Oxley

A series of very successful meetings were held in solidarity with the revolution in Venezuela at the annual Communist Party festival — la Fête de l’Humanité — which was held in the Paris area last weekend. In France, Hands Off Venezuela (HOV) is led and organised by the supporters of the Marxist paper and website La Riposte, who have been waging an energetic campaign in support of the Venezuelan revolution over a number of years.

The international secretary of the campaign, Jorge Martin, spoke at three separate meetings on Saturday 10th September. The first of these took place at 12.30. Marie-Antoinette Borjas, of the Venezuelan Embassy in Paris, had invited Jorge to speak at the meeting organised by the Embassy in order to explain the significance of the revolutionary events unfolding in Venezuela. More than 60 people attended this meeting.

Greg Oxley, Jorge Martin and Marie-Antoinette Borjas

Jorge opened his speech by comparing the attitude of the Venezuelan government to that of the Bush administration in relation to the humanitarian disaster in New Orleans. He explained the reforms being carried out by the Chavez government, and retraced the history of the Venezuelan revolution, emphasising the way in which the big capitalists and landowners, supported by US imperialism, had consistently tried to overthrow the government and sabotage the reforms. This explains the socialist and revolutionary conclusions being drawn by Hugo Chavez and by the workers and youth of Venezuela, he said, and why the revolution was now moving in the direction of the overthrow of capitalism. Nonetheless, he also warned that the revolution is still in danger, as is Chavez personally. Jorge was warmly applauded. Marie-Antoinette Borjas, speaking on behalf of the Embassy thanked Jorge for his speech, and was clearly very enthusiastic about the work being carried out in France and internationally by the HOV campaign.

The second meeting was held in the stall of the Ardèche federation of the French Communist Party. François Jacquart, the Federal Secretary, gave a brief introductory speech, in which he underlined the importance of learning the lessons of the events in Venezuela. The 85 people who crowded into the stall to hear Jorge were extremely attentive and enthusiastic. They applauded at great length, and queued up at the end of the meeting to buy copies of La Riposte and the latest pamphlets produced by the organisation on Venezuela and on Cuba.

Finally, in the evening, Jorge spoke to an impressive gathering of no less than 250 people in the main meeting hall of the “Village du Monde” (the international area of the Fête de l’Humanité). Jorge’s speech was interrupted more than once by applause and cheering. Towards the end of his speech, he spoke of the necessity of building the forces in all countries, and especially in France, in order to spread the revolutionary ideas of Marxism and work towards the overthrow of capitalism internationally.

This last meeting was jointly organised by La Riposte and the association Forum pour un Autre Monde, led by André Meyer. André made a decisive contribution to the success of this meeting. His association sent out some 1500 invitations, and distributed a considerable number of leaflets at the festival. Without his support, this memorable event would never have taken place. Before Jorge began his speech, André explained the importance of the solidarity work being carried out by the Forum pour un Autre Monde, and also emphasised the work of the Marxist organisation La Riposte. Marie-Antoinette Borjas was on the platform alongside André Meyer and Jorge Martin. She made a short but very moving speech, giving concrete examples of how the social reforms of the Chavez government were changing the lives of ordinary working people, and particularly of the most oppressed sections of society.

Overall, more than 400 people heard Jorge speak at the Fête de l’Humanité. All three meetings were organised with the support of the Bolivarian Circles of Paris and Toulouse. In the last meeting, Daniel Yegrès, on behalf of the Bolivarian Circle in Paris, made a characteristically militant and enthusiastic speech. For my part, and on behalf of all the comrades of La Riposte, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to André Meyer, for his unfailing support in the preparation of this meeting, and of course to Marie-Antoinette Borgas. It is no exaggeration to say that without her support and personal involvement, this final meeting would never have taken place.